Neuroimaging Research Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, Division of Neuroscience, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Via Olgettina, 60, 20132, Milan, Italy.
Department of Neurology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Via Olgettina, 60, 20132, Milan, Italy.
Brain Imaging Behav. 2017 Oct;11(5):1343-1352. doi: 10.1007/s11682-016-9625-3.
Action observation training (AOT) is thought to facilitate motor system function. We applied voxelwise methods to assess the regional modifications of brain gray matter (GM) volumes and white matter (WM) architecture in healthy subjects following AOT and their correlations with improvements at motor and cognitive functional scales. Forty-two righ-handed healthy subjects were randomized into an experimental (AOT-G, n = 20) and a control (C-G, n = 22) group. The training lasted 2 weeks and consisted of 10 sessions of 45 min each during which subjects watched videos of daily-life actions (AOT-G) or landscapes (C-G), alternated by the execution with the right hand of actions presented in the AOT-G videos. At baseline and follow up, motor and cognitive functional measures as well as brain structural MRI scans were obtained. Tensor-based morphometry and tract-based spatial statistics were used to map longitudinal modifications of GM and WM structures and their correlation with functional scales. After training, both groups improved at cognitive tests, whereas the AOT-G also improved hand motor performance. Following training, no modifications of WM diffusion tensor MRI indexes were detected. After training, compared to C-G, AOT-G had increased volume of the left superior frontal gyrus and decreased volume of the right lingual gyrus. Compared to AOT-G, C-G showed increased volume of the right middle frontal gyrus and left inferior temporal gyrus. In AOT-G, GM volume changes correlated with improvements at cognitive tests. Ten-day AOT in healthy individuals modifies GM structure, promoting structural brain plasticity and functional competence.
动作观察训练（AOT）被认为可以促进运动系统的功能。我们应用体素方法评估了健康受试者在 AOT 后的大脑灰质（GM）体积和白质（WM）结构的区域变化，以及这些变化与运动和认知功能量表改善的相关性。42 名右利手健康受试者被随机分为实验组（AOT-G，n=20）和对照组（C-G，n=22）。训练持续 2 周，包括 10 次 45 分钟的课程，在此期间，受试者观看日常生活动作（AOT-G）或景观（C-G）的视频，然后交替用右手执行 AOT-G 视频中呈现的动作。在基线和随访时，获得了运动和认知功能测量以及大脑结构 MRI 扫描。张量基形态测量和基于轨迹的空间统计学用于描绘 GM 和 WM 结构的纵向变化及其与功能量表的相关性。训练后，两组在认知测试中均有改善，而 AOT-G 组手部运动表现也有改善。训练后，WM 扩散张量 MRI 指标没有改变。与 C-G 相比，AOT-G 组左侧额上回体积增加，右侧舌回体积减小。与 AOT-G 相比，C-G 组右侧额中回和左侧颞下回体积增加。在 AOT-G 组中，GM 体积变化与认知测试的改善相关。在健康个体中进行 10 天的 AOT 可以改变 GM 结构，促进结构脑可塑性和功能能力。
